Counting machine for printing presses



2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Dec. 26, 1922.

- E. BOUMA CouNTnNG MACHINE' PoR PRxNTlNG PRESSES.

FILED JAN,

llilw l a m r J ,L A

Edward ou m a Patented Dec. 26, 1922.

UNITED STATES EDWARD BOUMA, OF WATERLOO, IOWA.

COUNTING MACHINE FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

Application led January 23, 1922. Serial No. 531,161.

lie it known that I, IlnwAla) vBoUMA, a citizen of the United States of' America, and a resident of' Vaterloo, Blackhawk `(Jounty, Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Counting Machines for Printing Presses, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in counting machines adapted to be attached to printing-presses or other oscillatory or rereprocatory mechanism for counting and registering the sheets or other objects oper'- ated upon, and the object of my improvement is to construct the counting mechanism so that it may be initially set to show a desired aggregate of such objects to be operated upon, and to act subtractingly until all the objects are operated upon, means being supplied whereby when said work has been accomplished the machine automatically functions to cause cessation of movement of the operating mechanism, and' to energize a suitable signaling-device.

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafter described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of said device with the swinging front closure removed. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section thereof taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a vertical section thereof taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4, and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section thereof taken vertically adjacent one side wall. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the device with the front closure in place. Fig. 6 is a detail side elevation of the ratchet mechanism, and Fig. 7 is a detail longitudinal section of one ofthe terminals of the main circuit as mounted insulatedly in a side wall of the housing.

Similar numerals of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The numeral l'denotes an open front housing having at the top hinges 34 on which are suspended the swinging closure 31. Three spaced shafts 13-17 and 19 have their ends fixedly mounted in bearing orifices in the side walls of said housing and all lie in the same horizontal plane. A shaft 2 is also positioned across the interior of said housing below and a little to the rear of the sha-ft 13, is rotatably'mounted in bearing openings in the housing with its left hand end projecting outwardly thereof and with a ratchet wheel T. fixed thereon.

A hand-led rock-'body 3 is medially pivoted on the outer end of the shaft 2 and is secured by means of' a nut 9. The end of the rockbody opposite its handle part 3 is formed into a recess and widened engaging clamp 4 which may be fitted upon an oscillatory part of operating mechanism such as a reciprocatory printing press or any other mechanism adapted to handle or operate upon a succession of objects of a determined number. A pawl 6 is pivotally mounted atV 5 on the handle end of said rock-body to engage teeth of the ratchet-wheel 7 to rotate the latter by successive steps as said rock-body is rocked upwardly. Upon that part of the rotatable shaft 2 which is most remote from said ratchet mechanism, the hub of a gearwheel 8 is fixedly keyed at 10 to the shaft to rotate positively therewith. To the left hand of said gear-wheel a number of like gear-wheels are rotatably. mounted on the shaft 2 and each gear-wheel, including the one first mentioned, has a single detent 11 extending to the left from and terminally registering with one of the detents of the wheel, for a purpose to be described.

While any desired number of gear-wheels 8 may be employed, in the device shown, four only are used.

A number of lwide tooth gear-Wheels 12 are rotatably mounted on the fixed shaft 13, in this case five gear-wheels 12 being empolyed, all but the extreme left-hand one of of these being in mesh with the teeth of the gear-wheels 8, and the teeth of the gearwheels 8 being narrower, mesh only with the left-hand parts of the wide teeth of the gearwheels 12. As the gear-wheels 8 are spaced apart by their leftwardi extending hubs, their single detents 11 may thus once during each rotation, mesh with right-hand parts of the teeth of the gear-wheels 12, whereby, in a well known way, as the gear-wheels are all provided with ten teeth each, the denary wheels thus furnished,.are advanced stepby-step thru the ratchet action through the space of one tooth each time. This arrangement of the respective gear-wheels with their detents 11 causes the gear-wheels 8 beginning at the right in turn, to successively advance the nextv following gear-wheel 12 through the space of one tooth for each rotation of the antecedent gear-wheel 8. Five idler gear-wheels 1S are rotatably mounted upon the fixed shaft 17. are internieshed with the gear-wheels 12, and are of the same size. The numeral l5 denotes a number of gravity pawls mounted to rock on a fixed shaft 14 whose ends are fixed in orificed seats inv said housing, said pawls having equi-angular detents 16 positioned above and adapted to be releasably meshed with teeth of the gear-Wheels 12.

The numeral 20 denotes live denarjv gear-Wheels rotatably mounted upon saalV fixed sha-ft 19 being of' the same Width and adapted to lnesh with the teeth of the idlers 18. The gear-wheels 20 are made of nonconducting material. and narrow cylindric rings 21fare fixedly ,mounted around the middle zones of said wheels, said rings bearing upon their outer faces like denary numerals as shown at 33 from one to naught inclusive ofthe primary numerals. As shown in Fig. 2, the middle zones of' the idlers 18 are annularly hollowed out to provide clearance for said rings 21. Eachi `Wheel 20 has a longitudinal cylindric orifice 2l which, When all the Wheels 20 are in certain relative positions, are in alinement, this position being the zero position' of said denary wheels as indicated by the naught numerals alined thereon as displayed through openings 32 in said front closureY 31. The middle part of each orifice 24 is occupied by a short coiled compressionspring 23, and the en'd portions of each orifice are occupied by anti-friction balls 22, and so that the action of the springs is to tend to push said balls outwardly to have rolling Contact with the outer abutting end oi" the adjacent gear-Wheel and also once each rotation with the adjacent-ball 22 in said adjacent gear-wheel. `As said springs and balls are electrically insulated by .the non-conducting material of said gear-Wheel, they do not combine to provideaI continuous conducting assemblage through all the gearu'heels 2O until all these Wheels have relatively assumed positions at zero. Bushings 26 of non-conducting material are inserted in openings in opposite side Walls of the housing 1 and are traversed by conducting pins 28 Whose inner ends are widened at 25, the latter positioned for contact With the adjacent ball 22 once during each rotation. The balls 22 are prevented from escaping from the orifices 24 from which they slightly project by slightly upsetting the angular edge of the orifice. The outer end of each pin 28 is threaded to receive a clamping nut 27, and these nuts secure conductingly the terminals of conductors 29 and 30 which are in circuit With a source of electrical current 35.. Any desired kind of electrically-actuated device, such as a signal-lamp 36, or a switch or mechanism for throwing oli' the power of the printing press or operating means, may be included in said circuit.

The denary numerals on ea'ch denary wheel 2() are arranged as shown in said Fig. 1, and with the object of' indicating a processv of subtraction during the successive step-by-step actuation of the Wheels rather-than by addition as' in some other types of counting mechanism. The denary wheels 20 may be manually in turn rotated appropriately in a certain direction to bring certain numerals 33 on the annular bodies 2l into an alinement horizontally to be seen through the openings 32 of' the closure 31. For illustration, if a number of sheets are to be printed, this total number is caused to be shown on the re-set denary Wheels 20-21. Vhen said ratchet mechanism has been set in operation by an oscillatory part of the printing press to which it is connected, the said gear-train is actuated stepby-step with each operation of the press in printing and delivering a sheet, the removal of each sheet being thus indicated by 'a subtraction of one from the total displayed on said denary Wheels, and this goes on until all the' sheets are printed and all the denary Wheels arrive at their zerol position as shown in Fig. 5. It is obvious that during all this time, the conducting springs and balls 23 and 22 in the orifices in said wheels are never in continuous conducting contact, so that the circuit is not completed therethrough. At zero position, as these conductors are in contacting alinement With each other and With the fiXed terminals 25, the circuit is closed and the electrically actuated lamp or other device 36 is energized. In case an electro-magnetically actuated device of the proper kind is like- Wise included in said circuit, it may operate then to stop the'action of the printing press instantly. It Will be seen that this device automatically and accurately follows the action of the press and produces the desired count of sheets Without attendance.

It Will be understood that various modifications in the elements of the device, their number, sizes and arrangements may be effected Without thereby departing from the principle of this invention or from the scope of its protection.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: y

1. In a device of the character described,

a shaft, denary Wheels coaXially rotatably orifices to contact terminally only While said orifices are in alinement, conductors in cir-- cuit With a source of electrical current and havlng terminals contacting With the outer `ends of the conductors in the outermostlentially thereon, and having longitudinal orifices, conductors in said orifices forcentact W1th each other When said orifices and numerals are allned, and an electrlcal circuit including terminals contacting with the conductors in the orifices of abutting cylinders.

3. In a device of the character described, longitudinally alined n0n-conducting cylinders having numerals arranged circumfer- `entially thereon, and having longitudinal orifices, resiliently-controlled conductors in said orifices for yielding contact with each other when said orifices and numerals are alined, and an electrical circuit including terminals contacting With the conductors in the orifices of abutting cylinders.

4. In a device of the character described, longitudinally alined n0nconducting cylinders having numerals arranged circumferentially thereon, and having longitudinal orifices, resilient conductors and anti-friction conducting elements at each end thereof in said orifices for contact with each other When said orifices and numerals are alined, and an electrical circuit including terminals contacting with the conductorsin the orifices of abutting cylinders.

Signed at Waterloo,

Iowa, this 4th day of January, 1922.

EDWARD BOUMA. 

